Got frozen breastmilk to use up? Breast milk SOAP!

[american_mama]

I think someone, Eileen maybe, said she had lots of frozen breast milk that she thought was too old for consumption. Here's an idea from diaperswappers.com that sounds cool to try
http://www.diaperswappers.com/index.php?topic=6313.0.
Someone in the link above describes this as using the fats from breast milk in lieu of the fats that in other soaps might be goat's milk, buttermilk, etc.

Mothers Milk Soap Recipe (http://traditionalmidwife.com/mothersmilksoap.html )
32 (4-ounce) bars

Recipe:

3 lbs. vegetable shortening
17 ounces dark olive oil
18 ounces Safflower oil
6 cups thawed breast milk
(you can use any amount of breast milk you like and substitute the rest,
just make sure your total fluid volume reaches 6 cups).
12 ounces pure sodium hydroxide (lye - Red Devil brand works)
1 ounce Borax
2 TLBS honey
1 ounce Essential oil - optional
Ice Cubes


Tool List:

Stainless steel pans
Wooden or stainless steel spoons
Newspaper to cover counter tops
Candy thermometer
Measuring cup
Scale
Blender

***Wear Gloves and protective eye-wear when making soap...lye burns!!
****Use only stainless steel pans for making soap - DO NOT use aluminum!!



Procedure

Melt the veg. shortening in a sauce pan (about 8 quart size)and add the oils. Bring temp up slowly until the shortening is all melted. Don't over heat or scorch the oils.

Plug your kitchen sink. Fill half way with water and add about 3 dozen ice cubes.

Put thawed cold breast milk in a sauce pan (about 3 quart size). Place the sauce pan into the water. You *must* keep the milk cool when you add the lye to it or the lye will burn it and make it unusable, not to mention real stinky!

Slowly stir in the sodium hydroxide (lye) stirring constantly and occasionally circulating the outer ice water. The lye is going to heat the milk up as you stir it in. Avoid breathing the fumes by working in a well ventilated area.

Adding the lye should take at least 5 minutes, any faster and you will burnout your milk. If you accidentally splash any on yourself, rinse immediately!

Once combined, continue to stir the milk/lye mixture for just a few more minutes (3) and then remove from the water bath and set aside. You will notice that the milk/lye mixture steadily becomes yellowish in color. That is normal.

Add the honey and borax to your melted oil which should still be warm but not hot (115 degrees or so).

Now, slowly and carefully pour the milk/lye mixture into the pan of oil. Stir constantly until it is all mixed together.

This mixture must now be whipped in a blender (2/3's full at a time for safety sake). Run the blender (with the lid on) at whip speed for 60 seconds each time. Pour off into a clean pan.

Repeat the blender process a second time. This is when you will add your essential oils.

Once the mixture has been blended twice, it will be ready to pour into a mold where it will saponify and be ready to cut after 24 hours.

**The soap will never go rancid (no matter what you may have read elsewhere), it will only improve with age. Mothering Soap has the unique potential of becoming something extra, special as the years roll by. But that's just this mothers thought!
NOTE: The heavy duty molds I use for soap making are made of extruded vinyl. They are reusable and very easy to use - once it saponifies, you just slice the soap into bars, no fuss. These molds and many other soapmaking supplies are available at the Soap Shoppe page located at my Natural Soap Site -

[kimbe]

Cool. Every 3 months I have a load of emergency stash that I have to rotate. I HATED throwing that first batch out and I vowed that I would do something with it the next time around. Thanks.

[SeekerMage]

thats soo cool I just wish they had a smaller batch you could make....oh well. Maybe the same concept would work with regular milk based glycerin soaps....Ill have to search for a recipe...good idea!

[mudder17]

Hmm...okay, I THINK I have 6 cups of breast milk left, so this would be a perfect use. Let me see...the ingredient list:

Okay, where can I get the Red Devil Lye? I think I can get everything else. Oh, and I have to see if I have a stainless steel pan to make it all. And I have to check that my blender has stainless steel parts.

It doesn't look difficult--just time consuming. Can you give me the link for this woman's page so I can look for soap molds?

Thanks!


Eileen

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...ies/candle.gif for Leah
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbo...merald_18m.gif

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catca..._4_Kaya+is.png
Kaya's a cousin! 10/1/05, 5lb13oz

[elliput]

I have always wanted to try soap making and I know I have left-over frozen breast milk! And I am pretty sure I have at least one stainless steel pot. Like Eileen, I just need to find the lye.

[american_mama]

Eileen, I don't know any other links than the two in the original post. Maybe if you go to the diaperswappers link, then find the recipe (it;s towards the end of the thread, which isn't too long) and then see if the poster has a link in her signature or avatar box. HTH!

[mudder17]

Thanks! This really sounds like it would be fun. :)

Eileen

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...ies/candle.gif for Leah
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbo...merald_18m.gif

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catca..._4_Kaya+is.png
Kaya's a cousin! 10/1/05, 5lb13oz